Many children, many blessings; a stunningly beautiful wife is given to you right from the start.

Thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump-thump!

The drumming became completely chaotic.

That was no longer a signal to retreat, but a chaotic death knell.

Protected by a human wall of guards, Xia Yuan retreated with difficulty amidst the fleeing crowd.

His personal guards used shields and their own bodies to separate him from the soldiers who had abandoned their armor and were only concerned with escaping.

A young soldier tripped and fell to the ground. Before he could get up, he was trampled into a bloody pulp by countless pairs of mud-covered military boots behind him.

Another soldier's helmet was knocked off, and he turned around in terror to pick it up, but he was instantly swallowed up by the torrent and didn't even have time to scream.

As Xia Yuan watched all this, his chest felt like it had been branded with a hot iron, burning with pain.

What a shame!

This was an unprecedented humiliation for Xia Yuan since he began leading troops!

"Your Highness! We must retreat immediately! It's too dangerous here!"

The captain of the bodyguard held his arm, his voice trembling with tension.

But Xia Yuan suddenly jerked his arm and shook off the guard's hand.

Instead of continuing to retreat with the main force, he turned around, his eyes burning red, and walked in another direction from the camp.

"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness! Where are you going?"

The guards, not understanding what was going on, quickly followed.

"Don't follow me!"

Xia Yuan didn't turn his head, his voice hoarse as he gave the order.

"Immediately organize a large army and retreat to a place ten miles away! Go now!"

The captain of the personal guard trembled at Xia Yuan's shout and dared not take another step forward.

He could only turn around and desperately direct the routed army to regroup in the rear.

Xia Yuan ignored the chaos behind him and trudged alone through the wrecked camp.

He is going somewhere.

A place he usually doesn't want to set foot in.

But now, he has no other choice.

……

After passing several tents overturned by the blast wave, an open space appeared ahead.

This open space was strange, standing out from the surrounding mess.

The entire camp was shaking and wailing, but in this remote corner, an inconspicuous black tent was as quiet as a tomb.

There were no guards around the tent, and the tent flaps were tightly closed.

It was as if the earth-shattering explosions and chaos outside had nothing to do with this place.

Xia Yuan stopped in front of the tent.

He subconsciously straightened his royal robes, which were blackened by gunpowder smoke, and froze in his tracks, which were originally about to lift the curtain and enter.

He stood outside the tent, bowing slightly, adopting a rare moment of humility.

"Master Gu Master, Xia Yuan has something to ask of me."

Inside the tent, there was a deathly silence.

The only sound was the "whooshing" of the wind blowing through the tent.

Xia Yuan waited patiently, his forehead already beaded with cold sweat.

After a long while, a chilling voice finally drifted out from inside the tent.

"Come in."

The sound was like countless insects gnawing on dry leaves—dry, sharp, and devoid of any emotion.

Hearing this sound, Xia Yuan got goosebumps on his back.

He composed himself before reaching out and slowly lifting the tent flap.

Upon entering the tent, a strange stench, a mixture of blood and decay, immediately assaulted the senses.

Xia Yuan suppressed the churning in his stomach and stepped inside.

The light inside the tent was dim. After a moment, he could see the scene inside clearly, and his heart clenched uncontrollably.

In the very center of the tent, on the ground, was a huge, twisted array of runes drawn with white powder.

At each node of the formation, a white candle was inserted, its flickering light casting the shadows over the entire tent.

A gaunt figure sat cross-legged in the center of the formation.

The man was wearing a large black robe, with the hood covering most of his face, revealing only a pale, bloodless chin.

All around him, on the ground, on the walls, and even on the top of the tent, crawled all sorts of colorful insects.

Centipedes, scorpions, spiders, toads...

There were even many strange insects whose names I couldn't even make out.

They tear at each other and devour each other, making a faint but dense "rustling" sound that sends chills down your spine.

In the corner, there was a pile of earthenware jars of various sizes, their mouths covered with cloth.

But the unsettling wriggling sounds could still be heard coming from inside.

Xia Yuan's gaze swept quickly over everything, not daring to look any longer.

This place instilled a deep-seated fear in him.

He still remembers the first time he met this man who called himself "Mr. Wu".

At that time, in order to counterbalance the Miao King, Xia Yuan wanted to win over the Wan Gu Lou in the mountains of southern Xinjiang, so he went there in person.

However, the owner of the Ten Thousand Gu Tower refused to let him in with an extremely arrogant reason.

Just as Xia Yuan was about to leave empty-handed, this "Mr. Wu" took the initiative to approach him.

He said he could help Xia Yuan obtain the entire Great Xia.

Xia Yuan thought he was a madman at the time.

However, Mr. Wu released a butterfly from his sleeve right in front of him.

A colorful butterfly, almost eerily beautiful.

A butterfly flew into the mansion of a wealthy family.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the entire family of over three hundred people died suddenly.

The deaths were gruesome; each person's body had turned black and shriveled, as if all their life essence had been drained.

The head of the family was found kneeling in his study, his flesh and blood completely devoured, leaving only a pale skeleton.

Even more bizarrely, the skeleton stood up strangely when it saw Mr. Wu.

It trembled violently and eventually turned into dust, which Mr. Wu collected in a small wooden box.

From then on, Xia Yuan treated Mr. Wu as an honored guest.

He had witnessed the terrifying methods this man employed and knew that he was a complete madman.

Mr. Wu once made a condition to him, a condition that Xia Yuan felt was too outrageous and unreasonable.

He refused.

Therefore, Xia Yuan did not want to use this trump card unless absolutely necessary.

But now, it's that "last resort" moment.

"Your Highness, what's the matter?"

Mr. Wu slowly raised his head, revealing a pair of eyes that were completely pale and had no pupils.

Those eyes were like two milky-white hollows, capable of sucking in one's soul.

Xia Yuan suppressed his discomfort and bowed to the monster in front of him.

"Sir, something has happened."

"That brat Lin Mo somehow got hold of a strange iron ball that can be thrown over a hundred miles away with tremendous force."

"Our siege equipment has been completely destroyed, and the morale of our army has collapsed."

Xia Yuan briefly explained the situation outside.

Mr. Wu listened quietly, his milky-white pupils showing no emotion.

"So, Your Highness wants me to kill him?"

"That's right!"

Xia Yuan's tone became urgent.

"If this person can be eliminated and Blackwater Pass breached, I... will surely reward you handsomely!"

Mr. Wu did not answer immediately.

He stretched out a hand that was as pale as a dead man's.

A beetle, entirely emerald green with purple markings on its back, crawled out of his sleeve and landed on his fingertip.

Hey.

Hey.

Hey.

Mr. Wu gently tapped the beetle's hard shell with his fingernail.

Each tap felt like a blow to Xia Yuan's heart.

"If Your Highness wishes to ask for my assistance, that is certainly possible, but..."

His stiff lips parted into a strange arc, revealing a set of teeth stained black.

"That small request I made before... I wonder, Your Highness, what have you thought of it?"